


Rule 1: Do Not Stick Your D★ck in Crazy ♥

by Tangerine_Catnip



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Age Play, Alien Biology, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Robots & Androids, Cock Warming, Codependency, Dubious Consent, Explicit Language, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Formalwear, Hurt/Comfort, Kinktober 2019, Mind Control, Obsessive Behavior, One Shot Collection, Public Sex, Sexual Slavery, Singing, Unhappy Ending, Unhealthy Relationships, Violence, mechanical gore
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-04
Updated: 2019-12-30
Packaged: 2020-11-23 21:35:42
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 15,087
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20896469
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tangerine_Catnip/pseuds/Tangerine_Catnip
Summary: Steven repeatedly fails rule 1.Aka. A series of loosely connected events spanning different parallel universes. See individual chapter notes for plot details. New content warnings will be tagged when they become applicable.





	1. Truth by Trial: Wouldn’t you rather be free?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ideally, I didn't want to shift right from fluff to this, but lately, nothing has been working out as I intended. If you're reading this you clicked past the warnings and I take no responsibility for what you chose to read on the internet. 
> 
> **Alternate Universe: Truth by Trial:** The full scope of Rose Quartz’s crimes come out in the episode ‘The Trial.’ 4 years later, Steven is still trapped on Homeworld, but there’s a pink-coloured lining. 
> 
> **Kinks:** Exhibitionism, Formal Wear, Cock Warming, Sexual Slavery, (and some incidental in-universe age play because Spinel)

The glimmering Gems of the Diamond's high court stood neatly in a straight line. Standing patiently, heads held high, waiting to be judged by their magnificent leaders. When it was their turn, each would wait for the exact moment the Gem before passed their right shoulder, then stride up towards the four thrones. They would stop precisely on the insignia plate and fall into a deep bow at an exact 90-degree angle.

Then they would rise, state their facet and cut, and offer a few words of praise towards their perfect, flawless, radiant leaders. Then, they would back away gracefully, not turning their backs, never turning backs, until the next gem moved to present herself.

So far, the ceremony was proceeding without a hitch. White was not present of course, she had better things to do, but her Pearl was in attendance, allowing her to watch them through her Pearl's pure light.

Blue sat placidly; hands folded in her lap, while Yellow sat straight-backed and imposing. Pink Diamond was slouching in her seat, but as things went, that was a marked improvement for her. Usually by now, Pink would have started swinging her feet or wandering from one side of her throne to the other. Her new form was so small that nothing made for her seemed to fit anymore.

Well, nothing besides the reason why Pink was behaving so much better lately.

No one really paid all that much attention to her toy, but it's presence was felt in the effect it had on Pink. Pink was calmer and more relaxed. Which, while they would never admit it, even surprised the other Diamonds. They’d previously written Spinel off as a failure when she hadn’t quelled the littlest Daimond’s demands for a colony 6 thousand years ago. 

But just over the dawn of era three, the little pink Gem seemed to have finally found a way to keep her Diamond happy, and now everyone had more peace of mind because of it.

She sat very properly in Pink’s lap, presenting a very appealing form; a little white dress with plenty of ruffles and a big pink bow tied around her middle. Lacy garters held up her bright white socks, and on her feet, she was wearing a pair of shiny black dress slippers. 

She was also snuggling into her Diamond's neck, which was a lot less proper, but acceptable when the Gem in question was made to be worn and shown off.

Pink herself had on a strange black two-piece outfit that suited her new form if not everyone’s expectations. Fortunately, her toy helped with that by presenting all the charm and grace her Diamond sometimes lacked.

* * *

Steven ran his hand over the fabric of Spinel’s dress. It was fluffy and weightless in his hand. The layered ruffles seemed to invite him to lift them up, one by one, until he found the treasures hiding underneath. 

“Do you like it, my Diamond?” Spinel purred.

Steven ignored her. She only called him that to tease him. Spinel knew better than any other Gem that he wasn’t his mother.

Spinel adjusted “You like it. Don’t you, Steven?”

“Yeah…” Steven admitted. How could he not when she had only shifted her form that way because it was the kind of thing he liked. Cute, sweet, fun… all the things that were missing from his life since he’d given himself up to answer for his mother’s crimes.

“I knew it. You love seeing your adorable wittle Spinel trussed up ‘awl nice and pretty for you. It’s such a shame all you want to do now is take alla the pretty little things offa her.”

Steven shivered. She was right, she was always right. Except…

He moved his hand up her leg and slipped one finger under the tight band of her left garter. Those could stay on, along with her socks. They would make her legs look so lovely when they were pinned up over her head.

“A few things can stay.”

“Ehehee~! Naughty,” Spinel giggled. She snuggled into the side of his neck, laughing and purring. “You’re so naughty. When did my wittle Steven get so grown up? It seems like only yesterday the diamonds sent you to come play in my garwden, now you’re aaaall gwown up, and you want to play very different games in a very different garden.”

Spinel kissed the side of his neck and Steven felt the smile on her lips twist from sweet to arsenic.

“Dontcha?” she murmured. In her real voice this time. The one only for him, because he was the one who’d made her that way. Him and Pink Diamond. If there was even a line you could draw between the two. The longer he spent trapped in her nightmare, the less convinced he was.

Steven hated thinking about what he had done to Spinel. He had never meant to end up where they had, but he’d still taken every step that led them there.

Once, he had sworn to never take advantage of her, but as the years rolled by and he was left completely isolated from other Gems and forgotten about by the Diamonds he’d grown more and more dependent on her as his only source of companionship.

Even worse, Spinel was so accommodating that it was all too easy to ask. She’d never refuse him; he was her Diamond. 

A kiss here, a touch there, a suggestion about how he’d like her form if she didn’t mind. By the time he’d stopped to really think about what he was doing, he’d already gone past the point of no return.

He’d taken away her innocence one fraction at a time. His craving for the affection and intimacy he’d once taken for granted had turned him into a monster. Taking, taking, taking, trying to make himself whole by pouring himself into her and tightening the leash around her neck.

“I’m sorry,” Steven whimpered, burying both hands in the ruffles off her skirt. It almost looked like a wedding dress. Especially with the garters and tiny slippers. One last pretty thing to wear before being sold off to the highest bidder.

“Awww, no! No! No! Let’s turn that frwown upside down.” Spinel bumped herself even further forward in his lap and cupped his cheeks in her hands. “Thewre’s nothing to be sowy for Steven. Well, nutten besides the fact were trapped here at this stupid cewemony.”

Spinel looked over her shoulder out at the throne room. The Gems were still approaching one by one, none of them caring that their leaders didn’t even nod their heads to acknowledge them. 

Spinel turned back, her lips curving into a sympathetic pout.

“My poor Steven is bowed, isn’t he? Sitting here without anything to pway with.”

She sat back and puffed out her chest. The bodice of her dress was cinched tightly, lifting her breasts and presenting them for the benefit of the only being in the room who would respond to their presence.

Steven loved how cute and perky they were, how they fit perfectly in his hand, and how soft and supple they felt against his lips, but he hated the fact they were only there to make her more compatible with the selfish appetites of a touched-starved human… Because he had wanted them there.

“Oh, wait. I have something that’ll keep you bwusy. You can play with it right here, right now and no one wilw even notice.”

Steven swallowed hard. “Geez, that couldn’t sound more ominous.”

Spinel grinned, showing off the tiny fangs that she was very good at hiding around everyone besides him.

“There’s a vewy special secret in my outfit. Why doncha see if you can find it?”

Steven’s gaze fell back to her breasts. This was a bad idea. He knew it was. But he was really bored, curious, and not a single being in this whole room seemed to care what he did if his butt stayed on his throne.

He scooped Spinel up and buried his face in her chest, kissing and licking her enticingly soft skin. For the first time that whole day, Steven felt himself start to relax. He’d hate himself afterwards, but at the moment, he could lose himself in her. 

Spinel giggled and wriggled in his arms. “Nope. Not there! Twy lower.”

Steven lifted his head and started feeling up her abdomen. She was so deliciously curvy, a smooth hourglass from her broad shoulders to her generous hips. That at least had been something she’d always had. He could enjoy that.

“You’we getting warmer~! Keep going.”

Hips, very flat butt, still curvy, then her legs. Her incredible legs that could go wherever way he wanted them.

“Wawmer…”

Down to her knees, past the garter belt again. Lovely socks. They used to be tights, but stockings were more convenient these days.

“Colder.”

Steven was getting the picture now. He ran a hand up the inside of her thigh. Up and up until… Steven had been expecting a final barrier, so when he touched her, his fingers went much further than he intended. Before he’d fully registered the slick heat, half his pointer and middle finger were already inside her. 

Spinel gave a short trill of glee.

“Hot. So hot…” She purred. "Congrats, Steven. Yuh win.”

Steven held his hand perfectly still, but that didn’t stop Spinel’s slickness dripping down his fingers.

“Spinel. This isn’t a good time,” Steven growled. Even if no one was paying them any attention, he couldn't just… not in front of everyone. 

“Owo? It Isn't? Well, then you should stwop. Shouldn’t yuh?” Spinel teased.

Steven tried to take his hand away, but as soon as he let himself move; his fingers finished entering Spinel. Then instead of pulling back, his ring finger joined them. He pressed them together and rocked his hand against her. Each thrust of his wrist into her coated his hand in more warm, sticky-sweetness. 

“Se-see, I knew you jwst needed something to do with yur hands.”

Spinel wrapped her arms around his shoulders, arching forward and lifting her hips to give him lots of room. Her dress hid her lower body from view, the soft ruffles all that prevented Homeworld from seeing what her Diamond was doing to her. 

Spinel’s legs started to tremble, she hiccuped a pleasured sob into the front of his suit. Steven wasn’t feeling all that merciful at the moment. This had been her idea. He went a little faster, a little harder. Calling on a fraction of the strength his gem half bestowed him with. Spinel was meant to be a Diamond's toy, so she didn't break easily. 

“Owooah… Steven~! Rough... pwaying so rough...” 

Spinel gasped, her hips buckling for a moment before she gained control again. She started to move in rhythm with his hand, the hem of her dress swishing back and forth. Steven’s whole hand was sticky now. It seemed like way too much, but Steven didn’t know if Spinel was unusual like that. She was all he’d ever had. His fluffy pink cupcake, full of frosting that never seemed to run dry.

“Unngaaha!”

Her moans were so captivating. Steven couldn’t tell If he’d ever got the same sound out of her twice. Right now, though, making too much noise was a bad idea. Sound travelled too easily in the big empty room.

“Quiet, the Diamonds will hear you,” he snapped, glancing from Yellow to Blue to the tiny bleached pearl who was almost lost against the massive white throne.

Spinel extended her arm, wrapping it around his shoulders a second time then shoving the hand down over her mouth. 

“Mmmmmhm”

“Good girl.”

Spinel tightened up around his fingers. Steven suspected that the words of praise did more for her than anything he was doing to her form. Sometimes he wondered if Spinel would orgasm just because her Diamond ordered her to. 

He’d rather not find out. It was nicer to pretend this was for him. Because of what he was doing to her, not who he was, or used to be. 

“I think I’ve almost solved your puzzle…” Steven murmured. His free hand found its way under her skirt, and he traced the curve of her labia up from her entrance until he found her sweet spot.

Steven turned his head toward her neck and kissed her under her ear. “Mmm, gotcha…”

He gave her as much as he dared, keeping a fierce rein on his strength. He gently rubbed the spot under his thumb with one hand as he thrust his fingers roughly into her.

She came apart for him. Her desperate cries of pleasure dampened behind the gag she had made from her own hand. Steven pulled his fingers free, and Spinel dropped onto her ass on the throne in front of him. Her dress slipped down her thighs, giving him, and thankfully only him, a glimpse at the mess he had made between her legs.

Spinel lowered her hand, gagging on her fingers as she pulled them out of her mouth. A thin line of drool ran down the side of her mouth. With a cold chill, Steven realized she had been choking herself to fulfil the order he gave her. He looked down at his hand, the warm slick on his fingers was translucent, but, in a flash, he saw it run red.

He was killing her… and himself. Bit by bit.

He lifted his hand to his mouth and tasted her. It’d taken him a while to properly place that flavour. A hint of sweetness, not cloying, even when he was eating her out, with a fresh flowery undertone.

It was the flavour of Turkish delight. Tender and pink; dusted with sugar.

Rosewater. Spinel tasted like Rosewater.

He didn't know why. Maybe it was all in his head. Maybe he had somehow Imprinted it on her, or maybe Pink Diamond had. There were too many questions.

At least when he drowned in it, he could say he saw it coming.

He lapped up every bit, while Spinel watched with wide eyes. He hoped she was thinking about his tongue inside her. He was pretty sure the top button on his dress pants was about to pop open, he was so infuriatingly hard right now.

How much longer was this fucking ceremony anyway? He felt like he’d been here for weeks. The line of Gems waiting to greet the Diamonds didn’t look to have gotten any smaller.

Yellow was still sitting with her legs crossed, leaning on the arm of her throne. Blue was sitting with both hands in her lap, her expression entirely neutral. Neither had noticed or cared he’d just finger-fucked Spinel to orgasm right in front of the high court.

Then again, why would they? They didn't even know what that was.

Spinel righted herself, brushing her dress back into place and pulling her socks back up. Her two heart-shaped buns were tousled, but that wasn't part of anything he'd done. At least not recently. 

She’d stood alone waiting for 6 thousand years for Pink, for him, and even though she/he had come back, just like Spinel had always hoped, she was worn from the experience. The most telling reminder was in her eyes, dark black rings lined them with bits spilling over onto her cheeks. Permanent traces of her tears.

Sometimes Steven wondered if they weren’t getting darker and larger with every passing day. 

“Tense, so tense, so tense...” Spinel murmured, her gaze very obviously lingering on the dress pants issue Steven had finally acknowledged to himself. “My tense Steven. I’ve gotten you aww hot ‘n bothewed, haven’t I?”

Spinel crawled back over to him. She wrapped herself around his arm and nuzzled into the side of his neck. Steven tried to ignore her, even though he knew how futile that was. Spinel had four years of constant companionship to learn exactly how to push his buttons, and a few of his buttons only existed because she had pressed him there.

“We should fix that wight away. I know what always makes Steven relax.”

Spinel started walking her fingers down his chest, starting at his collarbone. Steven snatched her wrist just before she got to his gemstone. 

“Spinel. No.”

“Aww… but, why? Dontcha want to relax a little? I know my Steven always feels betta once his injector is tucked up all nice n’ snuggly tight in his Spinel’s special place.” 

Steven closed his eyes and groaned. A fresh rush of blood leaving his brain for warmer southern climes. He wished it was just **what** she was saying that did that to him, but the note of sing-song in her voice and the words she was using… the monster inside him was lapping it all up.

“This isn’t exactly a great time.”

“Shhh... that’s part of my plan. I’m gonna sit vewy still so no one will notice. I’ll sit and be quiet and good, and you can relax while I keep your injecta’ cozy and safe until everyone’s gone. Then you can plop your pretty spinel ovuh an armrest and give me a nice. big. dose.”

Steven grit his teeth. His cock throbbed at that prospect, but that part of him had already gotten him in enough hot water for one afternoon.

Still… it couldn’t get much worse at this point, could it? He knew Spinel would keep her promise not to move until he said so.

His grip around her wrist loosened and Spinel started undoing his belt, giggling softly to herself.

“Heeeeheehhhe…”

She sat down in his lap again, the copious ruffles covering everything. Hiding the truth behind a pretty façade.

Spinel pulled his pants and underwear down just enough to get what she wanted. Even if Steven had the willpower to try to stop her, he probably couldn’t at this point. Spinel’s hands were simply too quick and dextrous to keep at bay.

Her skirt shifted one last time as she lined herself up. Steven bit down on his bottom lip. He'd just had his fingers in her, but that had never really given him a proper idea of what she felt like. What felt silken on his fingers felt like velvet on his cock. Pink velvet cupcake, hot from the oven, melted frosting dripping all over. 

Sometimes he wondered how it compared to a human, though he doubted it could be any better. Through a cruel twist of fate, Spinel had been built in a way that perfectly accommodated being abused like this. Even her insides were flexible and entirely under her control. 

Steven watched her face. This was one of the few times he thought he was able to catch a glimpse of the real Spinel. No planning or scheming, no worrying about pleasing her Diamond, just her and him, her form and his body intertwining.

Her eyes were wide and unfocused her lips slightly parted. Near the end, the calm broke into a slight wince. 

“Hrrk-”

Spinel dropped herself the last little bit, a weak shudder passing through her form.

Steven scooped her into his arms, his protective instincts kicking into overdrive. He had to hold her tenderly, especially at moments like this. It was the least he could do to make up for what he'd done. To make sure she felt loved even while he used her.

Spinel melted in his hands, wrapping her legs completely around his hips. She placed her chin on his shoulder and murmured, “Jeez… we’re ya always that big? Give a gal a little warnin' or somethin’.”

She tightened her legs around him, pulling him in just that little bit more so that she got all of him. Because, really, what was the point in fucking a cake if you weren’t going to go balls deep, right? 

“You don’t have to be so tight,” Steven muttered back. 

“All de best hugs ‘er tight”

He heard spinel lick her lips and swallow. He could almost see her sweeping her more abrasive personality back under the carpet.

He rubbed her back, and after a moment, he started to hum under his breath to her. He still couldn’t think straight, and the heat around him was achingly-frustrating but was nice to hold her close. 

And then Spinel had to ruin it.

“Hey, Steven? Guess what?”

Steven didn’t want to reply, but it would be a special kind of rude to ignore the person your dick was currently inside.

“What, Spinel?”

“Wewll, it’s just that I’m really, really excited! Cuz now we have all this time together for yur injector to work on its stuff. I can’t wait to see how much it gives me fur being such a good Gem!”

Steven felt all the colour drain out of his face. Fuck. Why did she always have to phrase it in the worst possible way?

“I made my special place wit’ the extra room up top dis time. Plenty of space for sticky-warm Diamond goo in my guts. Mmmmhmm.”

Steven tried not to think about it, but it was pointless to try and fight it. He was so weak when it came to that part. The part where Spinel lay still for once, and the evidence of what they had done was painted all over her.

Millions of years of human evolution screamed in his ear, urging him to pour himself into this gorgeous creature and pass on a part of himself through her. His Diamond half was no help either, his gem’s core purpose demanded the creation of new life and the difference between an injector sinking its load into a planet and the way humans made more humans wasn't distinct enough to deter.

“Your gonna fill me up to the brim right?” Spinel sang. "Fill me up~! Fill me up~! Up, up, up!”

“Spinel, Shut up. Please.”

“Mmmmkay.”

She settled, and Steven pulled her flush against his chest. Lining up his heart with her heart-shaped gem. If she would just let him hold her quietly like this, maybe, just maybe, he could talk himself into falling in love with her.

“Hey, hey, Steven. Yur leaking…”

“Mmm…mmmhmm. Thanks for noticing.”

“Even not movin’ your injector still wants tuh fill me up. It knows where it belongs...”

“Didn’t you say you’d shut up?”

“I said ‘mmmkay.’ That’s not a real word.”

Steven took a few deep breaths. Not now. Not like this. Not while they were like this. 

“Spinel, please?”

“Oh, alright, I’ll be quiet. But can I say one last thing first?”

The shift in her tone was like an alarm, making Steven sit up and pay attention. Spinel was rarely serious about anything, so the few times that bubbled up to the surface, he couldn’t afford to let it slip him by. Spinel readjusted how she was sitting as well. She wrapped her arms around his thighs binding them up and lifting them just a little off the pink throne, giving her enough leverage to fully commit to her goal of keeping him as deep as he could go. 

Of course, using her arms to bind his legs didn't stop her from also hugging his chest and crossing her hands behind his shoulders in an affectionate embrace. Spinel sighed contentedly, her head lolling to the side. 

“-I feel really safe when you hold me like this.” 

Steven’s grip on her hips tightened enough that it would have bruised a human. He wanted to crush her to his chest, but he also didn't want to stop looking in her eyes. They were shinning, glimmering, filled with love. 

“M-me to… it’s nice.”

Spinel smiled, and for a moment, everything was perfect… and then Spinel opened her mouth again. 

“If I could have your cock inside me all the time, I would.”

“Spinel, don’t say stuff like that.”

“It's true, though.”

Spinel gently rocked them back and forth in a way that arguably should have counted as moving but didn’t technically jostle the parts where they were connected. 

“Steven inside me... inside, inside. Hugging Steven from the inside. Hold him tight, keep him safe. Steven loves me, fills me up. Fills me up, with love.”

“Spinel.”

“It’s okay. Yuh know no one cares. Nuh one on this planet cares. All we have is one another. The Diamonds don’t care, but I do.”

Spinel closed her eyes and nuzzled into his neck, kissing her favourite spot on the side of his throat. 

“I’ll do whatever you want,” She murmured into his shoulder. You know, I will. Whateva, whatevuh.”

“It’s not right. You were made to serve me. You didn’t have a choice.”

“Ha! Me? Whatabout you? Yhu didn’t want to come ta Homeworld, dey took you. You didn’t want to be responsible for what Rose did. You didn’t ask tuh be treated like Pink Diamond. You didn’t ask to be given me. Where was your choice?”

“But I hurt you.” 

Spinel laughed bitterly, her whole form shaking with it. She tightened around him, creating a new and very unwelcome link in Steven’s brain between Spinel’s grief and the sudden rush of pleasure. 

“Oh, Steven, everyone hurts me. I was made tuh be a punchin' bag. But… at least you care enough tuh feel bad about it.”

The tension in her body eased as she relaxed again, melting back into fluff and sweetness. 

“If we’re both trapped in dis awful place... If we can’t escape. We can at least enjoy ourselves. Let me take yuh away from here at least fur a little. Let me hold you, nice n’ tight inside, and make you feel good. Cuz when you feel good, I feel good.”

“Spinel… I…”

“And for the record, I’m not judging yuh gettin' off on the baby talk. I’m fuckin’ adorable.”

Steven looked out over the faceless gems. All identical, all perfectly moulded. Or at least hiding their faults well enough to seem that way. Spinel in his lap, their own dirty little secret tucked away, just like the part of him no gem should have. 

“I’m sorry...”

“Me too, babe.”

Spinel was quiet after that. Just like she'd promised. Sitting very still. 

Steven rubbed her back, humming to her quietly. Words came to him, and bit by bit, he coxed them to fit the melody.

“I’d rather be… Free-ee... Free-ee... Wouldn’t you rather be free?” 


	2. Unusual Euphemisms

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Alternate Universe: **None 
> 
> **Kinks/Prompts: **Nipple Play, First-Times

Steven stuck a finger into each pot, checking to see how dry the soil was before watering to avoid giving too much or too little.

He heard the door to the Diamond base swish open, followed by some very distinct footsteps. Pearl never made any noise at all, Garnet walked with even, steady pace, Amethyst had a relaxed but confident gate, and Greg was like Amethyst but with the added smack of flip flops.

There was only one member of his family who both skipped and made a soft squeak sound with every step.

"Steven!"

He braced himself a moment before an excitable bundle of pink tackled him from behind. Spinel wrapped her arms around his shoulders, nuzzling up against the back of his neck.

Steven carefully set the watering can down on the wire rack and reached behind his back for her. Spinel dangled freely from his shoulders, prompting Steven to swing her over them like a bubble-gum pink cape.

Spinel giggled as he tossed her with one arm and caught her with the other. The smile was still on her lips when he pressed his against them.

"Back so soon?" Steven asked, once he'd set her back down on the floor. "I thought you were spending the afternoon with Amethyst."

Steven looked her over, hunting for any sign that something had not gone exactly to plan with girl's day out, but Spinel's pigtails were perky, and she wasn't clinging to him particularly tightly.

"I was! But something came up that I wanted to check in with you about."

Steven sighed. Knowing Spinel, she had probably run all the way from little Homeworld just to ask what his favourite flavour of ice cream was.

"If you'd let me get you a phone, you could just text whenever you needed something," Steven suggested. He didn't have a lot of hope that this attempt to convince her would be any more successful than the previous ones. His Spinel was a little old fashioned in a lot of her tastes. A trait she shared with most Era 1 Gems.

"Mmmm… Yeah, but I can run faster than those stupid signal things anyway."

Steven arched an eyebrow at her.

"Sure," Steven agreed, mostly because he was worried that she would take him disagreeing as a challenge. "But phones transmit signals through a whole network of towers before they get to me. It's not exactly a fair race."

"Pfffft why would they do that? That's just dumb. Not my fault they don't take a direct route," Spinel scoffed.

Steven took one look at her inexplicably smug smile and decided he really had to sit down before Spinel did anything that cute a second time.

He took her hand and led her over to the wooden bench that sat between two of the larger potted plants. Spinel elected to sit on him instead and Steven spread his legs out a bit to accommodate, resting his hand on her lower back. His other hand ended up on her thigh, a little higher than he would have dared if he'd been watching what he was doing and not Spinel's adorable face.  
  
"Alright, what was so important you absolutely couldn't wait?"

Spinel sat up and cupped his cheek in her hand.

"Alright. This is kinda sudden, but It never hurts to ask, so…"

Spinel licked her lips, showing off a faint hint of her left fang. The hand Steven had on her thigh tightened slightly. He was pretty sure he would give Spinel anything if she flashed those wicked little points in his direction.

"Can I have your V-card? Please?"

All the blood drained from Steven's face. His human half flailed around for the support of his Gem half, but he only found a pink error screen.

**A problem has been detected. Steven.exe has shut down to prevent damage to his programming.**

Spinel, blissfully unaware of his suffering, continued unbothered.

"I promise I'll be gentle, and we can do whatever you like to make it extra special."

Spinel waited with bated breath for about ten seconds before she finally realized something was wrong.

"Uh. Steven? Hello?"

Spinel waved her hand in front of his face, but his eyes didn't move to follow.

"Well, crud."

Spinel sucked on her bottom lip as she decided what to do.

"Wait! Peridot told me about this. Is this freezing? Are you frozen?"

Spinel sat up, swapping from side-saddle to riding astride with the grace of a sporty debutante.

"Frozen screen… frozen screen… restart! Gotta find the restart button…"

Spinel poked Steven's cheek, then his neck, then his right shoulder. She kept picking random spots around his upper body until something occurred to her.

"Oh! It's near your gem isn't it? Duh."

Spinel grabbed the last slat on the bench and levered herself out of Steven's lap and onto the floor. She scooted closer on her knees, nudging up between his legs and sliding one arm around his hips.

Fortunately, that was when Steven's Gem-half finished its reboot, and he managed to grab Spinel's hand before she pulled his shirt up.

"Nope. That's enough of that. Come here."

Steven let go of Spinel's hand and grabbed her under her arms. He stood as he picked her up, spun 90 degrees and placed her firmly back down on the bench. He took a deep breath in then let it out slowly, pushing all the air out of his lungs so that his next inhale would be as full as possible. After four or five rounds, he was ready to address her question.

"Let me guess; Amethyst told you about this."

"Mmmhmm~! That's why we went to Little Homeworld. Amy is taking bets with the others on when I'm going to take your V-card."

Steven scrubbed his face with both hands. "Of course, she is… why not?"

"Yeah, and I really don't want to disappoint anyone. Do we have to play a game for it? Or do you just give it to me if I do something right? Or is it something you need to exchange with me for something else? Also, is the 'cherry' related? Everyone is talking about cherries for some reason. I'm not even sure how you would pop a cherry. Wouldn't we need like a tiny stick of TNT or something?"

Steven stared at her over the tips of his fingers. Was she messing with him? This felt like she was messing with him.

Then again, earth terminology wasn't the easiest thing to grasp for non-humans. There was a lot of context that was lost when your biology wasn't carbon-based.

"Spinel, I think Amethyst was just joking with you. Or at least I HOPE she was."

"Nhu-huh, I saw the book and everything," Spinel insisted, scooting forward to sit on the edge of the bench. "The odds get really stacked for everything after 3 months. That's why Amy said we need to get a move on. Pearl has ten bucks on us waiting till something called 'marriage' and the odds of that are like 100:1 so Amy would be wrecked if that happened."

Steven dropped his hands and stared back at her, open-mouthed.

"Wait. Wait, wait. Pearl made a bet on this?"

"Welllllll… she wasn't going to at first. Pearl was like 'Amethyst this is vulgar, inappropriate and a violation of Steven's privacy' but then Amy said, 'you're just salty because you know he's going to crack any day now' and then she got mad and ponied up."

Steven sighed and slumped forward, bracing himself against his knees. Yeah. That sounded like exactly what would have happened.

"Ugh. Right. I'm going to go talk to them," Steven decided. He turned toward the sliding door and managed to take two whole steps before Spinel called after him.

"Steven, wait. You didn't ask if I made a bet or not."

The soft purr in her tone sent a chill down Steven's spine. Every nerve in his body screamed at him to not turn around. No matter what.

"Isn't that a bit of a conflict of interest?"

"Naw~! Amethyst said it was okay. After all, the bet is on when you give in, not when I do."

Spinel hugged him from behind. Her gem pressed against his shoulder blades, along with two other distinct lumps that were considerably more yielding. Spinel giggled and pressed her lips against the side of his neck. Painting that spot a faint pink as Steven's blush spread.

"Cuz, I'm always up for anything if I get to do it with you," She murmured into his ear.  
  
"I knew you were messing with me," Steven snapped. It wasn't wholly accurate, it was more like he could've believed it either way, but he felt better forgetting that part.

"Hehe~! guilty as charged. You know me so well."

Spinel rocked back and forth against him, making it very clear that the lumps pressed against his shoulders were exactly what Steven suspected.

"I even learned how to shift into a new shape just for the occasion. I tested it out. All the bits work exaaaaaaactly like they're supposed to…"

Spinel pressed more of her form against him and stretched out her arms to wrap them around his chest twice.

"Our first time is supposed to be special. So, I don't mind if we don't get to it right away, but we could start inching toward it if you want to."

Steven swallowed hard. He'd wondered if Spinel would eventually pick up a few things after spending so much time on earth and when he should bring up the topic. All he knew for sure was he wanted to make it clear that sex wasn't a deal-breaker for him either way.

After all, aside from the few times Spinel casually, (or not so casually as he was just finding out) edged into risqué territory, he didn't feel all that invested in it.

"So whaddaya say, big guy? I'll show you mine if you show me yours…"

Spinel licked her lips again, and this time Steven swore he could hear her tongue moving over her fangs.

"Promise you'll be gentle?" Steven asked. He meant it as a joke, but there was a cadence in it that betrayed the fact he wanted an honest answer.

Spinel pulled her arms back. She touched Steven's shoulder as she walked around him. Her shifted form was both different and familiar. Her gem sat higher on her chest, set against the pale pink that represented her skin instead of the dark purple of her top. Her sleeves and shoulder pads were missing, and when combined with the lower cut neck and the new curves on her body, it gave the impression she was wearing something like a corset. Her lower half didn't look all that different, except there were substantial gaps between the corset, shorts, socks, and boots that made it clear they could be moved out of the way.

"Oh, oh… Baby doll, snookums, honey bear, sweetie, pumpkin pie, lover boy, treasure, Steeeeven~!" Spinel crooned, cupping his face in her hands and brushing her fingers over his cheeks.

"You're my precious, precious, precious, Steven. I guess I don't exactly have the best track record, but you know I'd never ever, ever, do anything to hurt you. Never again. I love you so much."

Steven shut his eyes tight and hugged her to his chest like she was everything he needed.

"I love you too."

He held her like that for a moment then set her back down. He met her eyes and smiled, then his gaze started to drift slowly but steadily down to her neck and shoulders and...

Steven snapped back and fixed his attention on her eyes. Spinel snickered and touched the back of his head, angling his attention back down.

"Go on. Stare as long as you like. I made them just for you."

Steven's hand twitched. There were laces all down the front of Spinel's corset, with a big bow tied at the top.

"Do yuh wanna stick your dick between 'um?" Spinel asked, bouncing on her heels.

Steven made a sound in the back of his throat that was something like the dying scream of an aardvark. All he'd planned on doing this afternoon was watering the plants and catching the latest episode of Crying Breakfast Friends: Hereafter. How had things Spiralled this far out of control?

He didn't really need to ask, the answer was standing on her tiptoes and offering up her chest like it was spread on a silver platter. The way her gem was placed… if he...

The mental image of Spinel's gem covered in thick off-white fluid hit Steven like an anvil to the back of the head. What would you even call that? A Spinel necklace? Steven felt a crooked smile curve his lips.

No. Nope. No. No. No. Easy. Down boy. Bad human-half. Get a hold of yourself. Like it or not, Steven knew he had to be the one with self-control because the Stars knew Spinel wasn't going to refuse him anything.

"Spinel, this is a lot all at once," Steven admitted. There was also something else he had meant to do, but he'd forgotten what it was.  
  
"True. What do you want tuh do then?"

"Is it alright if I just touch you, for now?"

"Mmmmhmm."

Steven glanced around at the Diamond base and all the walls that were actually windows.

"Uhh. Maybe not here."

He picked her up and Spinel wriggled in his arms.

"Ooh, wait! Throw me over your shoulder! I saw that in a movie!"

Spinel climbed up into the desired position, bending at the hips over his shoulder. Steven grabbed her legs to stop her from sliding right off and Spinel found his hand and moved it up to rest on her butt.

"There. Perfect. You can start touching now."

Steven decided the faster he could get her down the stairs into his room, the better, even if walking was going to be challenging right now. He'd had hard-ons before, but he could usually get himself to calm down relatively quickly when there wasn't a Spinel climbing all over him like a set of monkey bars.

He took a quick way, jumping from the steps of the Diamond base to the balcony outside his room. He wrenched the sliding door open and kicked it closed behind them.

As soon as he was standing in his room, Steven realized he'd made a grave mistake. This was the one place in his house where he had the most privacy. The other Gems knew not to come up the stairs without checking first. He and Spinel could do whatever they wanted here.

He warily approached the bed, wondering if it was too late to put the lid back on this can of sexual tension. Spinel started squirming again. She tugged her legs up until he lost his grip and dropped her onto the duvet.

She laughed as she rebounded off the springs, getting two good bounces out of it before settling onto her back. She kicked her legs delight and folded her arms behind her head.

"Steeeeven~! Time to unwrap your present."

She puffed up her chest and angled her shoulders back to enhance the display.

"Spinel, you're going to kill me," Steven muttered as he obediently sat down on the bed beside her.

"Nu-hun. I'll keep you plenty hydrated! And not just with water. I leaned all about electrolytes the other day."

"Did Amethyst tell you about that to?"

"Nah, that was Lapis, she knows a ton about water. You should be glad you've got so many good friends watching out for you."

Steven decided it was time to give up. He pulled Spinel close and planted his face in her breasts.

Spinel purred and rubbed his back. Murmuring his name over and over. Her boobs really did make a fantastic pillow, even with her Gem in the centre. Especially with her warm Gem in the centre. He honestly could have stayed like that for hours, but Spinel was tugging on his jacket, eager for him to explore more of her new shape.

He sat up, twisting one of the lengths of ribbon around his finger. He let himself have one last deep breath before he tugged it open. His fingers seemed to know exactly what to do. It was almost relaxing, slowly working open the laces to reveal more soft pink with each tug.

Any calm he found in the task evaporated the moment he had it fully unlaced. The corset poofed in a flash. Transmuting back into light and merging with Spinel's form once it was no longer attached to her body.

Steven placed his hands on either side of her abdomen, deciding he better start there. Spinel had even given herself a belly button, showing an attention to detail that Steven suspected only got more pronounced when the body parts involved weren't quite as innocuous.

He worked his way up from it, trailing a line of kisses spaced less than half an inch apart until he landed on her Gem. It sparked and begin to glow when his lips touched it.

Spinel sighed blissfully, her chest rising and falling. She smiled faintly. Completing a picture that Steven was surprised to find felt entirely comfortable. Now that he was here with her in this moment, all his nerves and worrying vanished in an insistent.

"Doya like 'um?" Spinel asked.

Steven nodded. If he hadn't known better, he would have thought they were a natural part of her form. The size was perfect for her and her perky nipples were a slightly darker shade of pink than the rest.

"They suit you."

Steven cupped them in his hands. He didn't exactly know what he was meant to do with them, but this seemed like a good place to start. He squeezed gently, then worked his fingers around the sides and under her arms, caressing along her upper chest, searching for points of tension he could rub against, so he wasn't just pawing randomly at her boobs.

Spinel closed her eyes and moaned.

"You can feel that?" Steven asked, shifting further onto the bed.

"Pffft. Of course, I can." Spinel teased, sticking out her magenta tongue at him. "It's still my form."

"Right. Right. Sorry..."

"Mmhmm, it's alrigty Stevy. We're figuring this out together."

Steven focused back on what he was doing. He wasn't totally sure, but it seemed like Spinel's nipples were more firm and pronounced than they had been a moment ago. He whimpered softly and met her gaze.

"Can I?"

"Yessir."

Steven kissed her gem first, then pressed his lips against her right nipple. He circled his tongue around it then put his mouth entirely over it, suckling gently as he squeezed her left breast with his other hand.

"Aahaa…" Spinel caught her breath. Both of her hands closing over Steven's shoulders.

"That's… that's really good. Keep doing that."

Steven didn't need her to ask twice. He clambered up on top of her and folded both arms behind her back. He set to work licking and kissing and sucking on everything within reach. He tried to give equal attention to each side, as well as some for her gem. He could feel now that Spinel's nipples got firmer the more attention he gave them, making it all the easier to rub them between his fingers and lavish them with his tongue.

Spinel's short little sqeeks of pleasure got increasingly desperate the longer this went on until she grabbed him under his arms and dragged him up to her level and kissed him hard on the lips. From there, they slipped into sloppily making out, tongues intertwining and hands grabbing and feeling up whatever was within reach, with perhaps a little more focus on Spinel's chest where Steven's hands were concerned.

They broke to let Steven catch his breath. His previously made bed was back to being fully rumpled, though, for the most part, the duvet had stayed underneath them. Steven clutched Spinel to his chest. Even though the tightness in the front of his pants was still as uncomfortable as it has been, overall, he felt extremely satisfied.

"You're sure that's all you want?" Spinel pressed. She tried to snuggle up closer, but there wasn't any more space between them to get rid of.

"Y-yeah. Yeah. That was great. Really, really, great," Steven replied between pants. "We… we'll have plenty of time to get to the other stuff… it... it's not a race..."

"I know. If it were a race, I wouldn't be letting you slack off, Mista Universe."

Steven laugh-groaned and propped his chin on her shoulder.

"If you have to make a game out of it; some people would call what we just did 'second base.' "

"Like in baseball?"

"Exactly. And in baseball, you have to wait for just the right moment to run for the next base."

"Huh. Alright. I got it."

…

"So, when I score a home run, do I get to keep the ball?"

"Ummmm… How about I give you a point on the scoreboard instead?"

"Mhmm… I'll take that."


	3. The Person Only for Spinel

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kinks: Hurt/comfort - missing limbs – body writing – Bathing 
> 
> AU: Gems are androids

The world shifted into slow motion the moment the SUV’s front bumper collided with the girl’s hip. At that point, there were only two ways thing could play out. If she was lucky, she would be swept up onto the hood and wouldn't break her neck when she landed. If not, she would be pushed down under the wheels, ending up with the entire half-ton weight of the SUV and it’s four treaded tiers on top of her.

For a teetering moment, it could have gone either way. Then she went down. 

The sound was bone-chilling in its profundity. A single dull thud, like going over a speed bump. 

Then the SUV was speeding away. Unharmed by the collision, barely slowing down. 

Steven was frozen in place. A deer in the headlights even though they hadn’t been shining anywhere near him. 

He wanted to tell himself that this couldn’t happen, that the artificial intelligence driving the car couldn’t have intentionally killed someone. Objecting that car crashes were so 2049 wouldn’t help the girl laying in the street. It was past midnight, pouring rain, and as far as he could tell, only he had seen the accident. 

Without a second thought, Steven dropped his umbrella and sprinted over to her. His stomach twisted into knots when he saw chunks strewn all over the street. There was blood everywh… no, wait… Those were puddles 

When Steven reached her, the truth was undeniable. Metal debris littered the pavement, along with scraps of broken wire and crushed plastic. There was no tissue under the torn silicon skin replica, only cables and endoskeleton. 

A GEM. 

That car had almost certainly contained a human. No AI would risk a swerve to save another machine. Asimov’s First law trumped the second two. Mystery solved. 

Except, He **had** seen her run into the street. That shouldn’t be allowed by her programming either. GEMs couldn’t intentionally hurt themselves. 

Right before the car had hit. Steven was so sure… She’d been looking him right in the eyes. 

Steven shook his head. What was he even doing? He was standing in the middle of a poorly lit street in the rain. If his mother notched this when she checked his GPS data, she’d have plenty of things to say about this. 

But… he couldn’t just leave the GEM laying in the street like trash. Her owner wasn’t here to take her to get fixed. In an hour or so, a street cleaner unit would come by. She'd be dumped in the nearest landfill. 

She’d looked him right in the eyes.

Steven slung his backpack off and grabbed all the significant chunks. She was Mostly in one piece, but her right arm had been wrenched away at the shoulder, and she was missing her left foot.

Steven shoved both in and zipped it up. Pack securely on his shoulders again, he scooped the rest of her up in his arms. 

GEMs were significantly heavier than humans. It usually took two to safely lift one GEM. Fortunately, Steven wasn’t_ just _ human. He lifted her easily, relying on his bionic components for the extra power. Steven didn’t use his enhanced abilities outside of training exercises, but under cover of dark and the rain, he felt justified in taking the risk. 

He braced himself and leapt, reaching the next street corner in a single bound. He cradled the lifeless GEM close. She looked utterly destroyed, but Steven suspected her shutdown was due to damaged batteries. They were usually the first thing to malfunction since they needed the most room and were the most volatile. 

As he navigated the empty streets of Capital one leap at a time, Steven noticed that the GEM in his arms was wearing a loose-sleeved nightgown with unsettling dark brown stains all down the front. 

More mysteries. Something terrible had clearly happened to this GEM even before she was run over. Steven didn’t want to dwell on what, but he couldn’t help but notice how short and slender her frame was. She fashioned to mimic the height and build of an adolescent human, a feature only a handful of gem models shared. 

Steven jumped right over the high fence that encircled the beachfront mansion he called home. The moment he touched down, lights and cameras mounted all over the front lawn activated. 

“Halt intruder- Oh, Hello Steven!” 

“Hey, Pearl,” Steven replied. He hustled over to the front door, arriving just as Pearl’s mobile platform reached the door and opened it. 

“Steven, why didn’t you use the front gate?” Pearl asked, stepping aside to let him through. 

“Sorry. In a hurry.” 

Steven hung a left in the main hall, moving through the east wing toward the garage. Pearl’s GEM platform stayed by the door, but her voice followed him, echoing out of the tiny speakers mounted in every room of the house. 

“Why are you carrying that pile of garbage around? You really shouldn’t be holding it with your bare hands.”

“She’s a GEM, Pearl.”

“Yes, I can see that, but it’s clearly broken. You didn’t dig it out of a rubbish bin, did you?”

“No. She got hit by a car.” 

"Well, then that's her owner's problem, isn't it?"

Steven graced down at the GEM in his arms. Her hair was matted and frayed, separated into two lopsided pigtails. Six long black lines were drawn on her face with a permanent marker. There were more marks on her collar and further down her body. Some crude drawings and offensive words. 

Whoever had done this to her clearly deserved to have their ownership privileges taken away and be subjected to a phycological evaluation. 

“They weren’t around. She might not have one.”

“Steven…”

“Look, Pearl. I just need to find out what happened to her. There’s a chance that her programming malfunctioned.”

“That’s not possible.” 

“It sure looked possible. I won’t know for sure until I get a chance to examine her.”

Steven bit his lip. If he wanted Pearl to agree to let him keep her, he needed to phrase it in a way she would approve of. 

“Think of it as a learning opportunity. If it’s just a coincidence, I’ll know better next time.” 

The was a brief pause as Pearl sorted through her directives. 

“Alright, but if you get even a scrape, I want to hear about it. I won't have you risking an infection. And I’ll be telling your parents about this as soon as they get home.”

Steven nodded. Usually, Greg finished his set around 4 am on Friday nights. He had at least four hours until then. Thank the Stars Pearl no longer had her 24/7 contact privileges. 

“I understand, Pearl.”

Steven finally made it to the garage. It was one of the few places in the house Pearl couldn’t monitor. Greg needed to have a place where he could get away from her. 

Steven kicked the door closed behind him. The garage had two functions, neither of which related to cars since the van was always parked outside. Half was a combined relaxation and practice space for his parent’s band ‘The Crystal G.E.M.S.’ and the other was the repair and maintenance workshop for the upkeep of the resident GEM units.

The shelves were kept stocked with all the components Garnet, Pearl, Amethyst and Rose required and few general-purpose ones. Steven put the broken GEM down in front of the repair rig. He’d let himself get soaked to the bone with rain by running home, even though the GEM he’d been carrying wasn’t getting any more broken. 

He sighed and looked down at her crumpled form. “I’ll be right back. I promise,” He murmured to her, even though he knew she couldn’t hear him. 

* * *

Steven returned 20 minutes later, warm from the shower, wearing one of his father’s old black shirts with the sleeves cut off and a fresh pair of jeans. His arms were full of bottles he’d raided from all over the house. 

He dumped them in a pile near the repair station and grabbed a bucket and a sponge from the washing sink. At a loss for what he needed, Steven had brought what he used when giving his dad’s van a wash and everything Rose kept in her shower. 

First things first, though. He needed to get her hooked up to the mainframe and do a system check. He started searching for her gem unit. Usually, they were somewhere accessible. He spotted something peeking out over the collar of her nightgown and pulled it down to get a better look. 

What had looked like a triangle was actually a heart improperly installed upside down. At this point, Steven was past wondering at what he was seeing, there were just too many questions. 

He couldn’t quite reach it while she still had her clothes on. He’d been hoping to put this off for a little longer, but he knew there was no way around it. Not if he wanted to help her. Careful not to touch the brown strains, Steven wrangled the nightgown over her head, lifting her body up when the fabric got caught. 

There were more words written on her thighs, belly and chest. Steven tried not to read them, but they burned themselves into his brain.

**WhOre, SlUt, BIMbo, JaiLbaiT- **

Steven swallowed hard to stop himself from vomiting. If he ever found out who did this... No. Anger wouldn’t help right now. It wouldn’t help her. 

“I’m sorry, I’ll get that off soon, but your gem comes first.”

Her gem was nestled right between her breasts. The top of the heart arched under both. Steven still didn’t understand the placement. Why set it up so that you had to take off her clothes just to interface with her?

Maybe for the same reason someone wrote rude words on a helpless GEM. 

Steven grabbed a handful of cables from the rig. They extended when he pulled on them, unspooling the exact length he needed to reach the floor. He attached them one by one, letting the magnetic aligners help him find the right spot to put each. In the end, he found attachments for six wires on each side of the heart. 

Her gem gradually lit up, growing brighter and brighter as the start-up process began. She wouldn’t fully boot until he found some way past her authentication procedures. To protect user privacy, her software automatically encrypted all data after a power loss. It wouldn't let her be rebooted until she was connected to a computer that had her authorization key.

The monitor on the side of the repair rig lit up. Steven stood up and snapped the keyboard open. 

Accessing… Connected. 

General Equation Machine [Spinel. Version 1.1.3.93]

© 2120 Diamond Innovations. All rights reserved. 

The system has experienced an unexpected shutdown. Preforming recovery. Please stand by. 

Steven blinked at the screen. That wasn’t right. Maybe she’d been jailbroken? But then, the repair rig would’ve refused to connect to prevent a potential virus from spreading. The mainframe was acting like it knew this GEM. 

“St-Steven?”

He turned at the sound of his name. The GEM was trying to sit up, but she hadn’t realized she only had one arm left. She crashed to the floor when she tried to take her weight with it. Steven leapt over to her, grabbing her under her shoulders, supporting her weight until she got her bearings. 

She tucked her legs together, adjusting to the fact her left leg ended at the knee. Steven took his hands back, gingerly. 

“Steven. I wasn’t wrong. It is really you…” 

The GEM laughed. There was a cadence to her synthesized voice that made Steven’s stomach twist up with dread. 

“Ha...haha…" She looked at him. Her face fell. "Ya-yuh don’t remember me? Do yuh…?”

The GEM crossed her remaining arm over her chest. 

“I… I suppose dat’s fair. I don’t look de same anymore, do I?” 

Steven could feel the pieces snapping together. He couldn’t stop them, even though he could already tell how monstrous the whole picture would be. He’d seen model name on the screen. 

“Spinel?” 

Her head snapped up. She met his eyes. The lenses in her irises widened to full. Steven reached out a trembling hand and gathered up a handful of her left pigtail. He carefully folded it into a bun and planted it higher on her head, using his imagination to fill in the rest of the picture. 

Heart-shaped buns, her puffy sleeves, her pastel pink gem visible thought an opening in her shirt, puffy shorts and tiny booties. 

Fuck. 

_"your new best friend… your new best friend...” _ Spinal sung tunelessly, her voice dripping with pain and irony. 

_ “your new best friend, Spinel is here!” _She threw her arm up and wiggled her fingers. The jazz-hands didn’t quite work with only one arm.

Steven jerked away as if he had been burned. There was no way. This couldn’t be right. Even though the mainframe had recognized her and had booted her up like any GEM registered to it. 

“But... but… Mom. Mom said you had a wiring fault! She said your data got fried and there was nothing they could do! She… she…”

Hearing himself say it, Steven realized how stupid he sounded. He’d only been 12 at the time, but he was fully grown now. Old enough to know there was no nice farm up-state why they’d send his childhood pet. 

“Yeah, dat’s what she said she was gonna say.” 

Steven stared down at the concrete floor, struggling to remember everything he could. It was all so hazy. He remembered playing with Spinel. Hopscotch, I Spy, sandcastles on the beach and the game where you see how close you could get to the waves without getting caught by them.

She’d been his tenth birthday gift. She'd been consistently by his side for the next two years. His one and only best friend. 

His last few years in elementary school had been one of the roughest parts of his life. He was just starting to manifest his cybernetic abilities and lost control of his strength while playing dodgeball in gym class. 

Toby’s broken arm had heeled in a few months, but no one ever forgot what Steven had done. The rumour mill spun the accident into a vicious attack. All his friends stopped talking to him out of fear, or because they were told to stay away from him. For the first time in his life, Steven went whole days without talking to anyone. 

Everyone hated him, not just for what he’d done but for who he was. Not quite human. Not quite machine. Something in the middle that no one understood. He scared them, and that fear turned into hatred. 

He’d been taken out of school shortly after and Pearl had taken charge of his home-schooling, keeping him precisely on the curriculum so he wouldn’t be left behind. Steven had appreciated being spared the bullying, but he was even more lonely being cooped up in the house with only more math lessons to look forward to. 

Then Spinel arrived, a big bow tied on her head and a massive smile on her face. Every moment he wasn’t sleeping or leanring he’d spent with Spinel, laughing and playing, making huge messes, rolling in the mud and playing games… until… 

He’d started middle school. He went to one on the other side of town. Since now he knew how to control his powers, nobody realized he wasn’t just another kid. He’d met Connie in music class his second week, and he'd invited her over for ice cream. Spinel had sat with them for a bit, but he hadn’t paid her a lot of attention, he was just so excited to have faintly made a new friend. 

When he had come home from school the next day, she was gone. 

And here they were 6 years later. He was all grown up. She was missing limbs, had parts of her reinstalled improperly, and someone had written all over her body. 

Steven took her remaining hand in both of his and squeezed her fingers. 

“Spinel. What happened to you? Where have you been all this time?” 

Spinel cringed and shook her head. “I dun wanna talk about it.”

She refused to look him in the eyes. Steven understood. Every time he tried to imagine it, he thought of something even worse. How had this happened? He knew his mother could be careless, but this had to be more than just a misunderstanding. 

“It doesn’t matter anyway. I’m just so glad I found you again.”

Spinel pulled her hand free and touched his cheek. 

“My Steven. You look so different. All grown up. You’re just like I always pictured you’d be. Big, handsome, strong…” 

Spinel looked down at her folded legs, leaning back as she took in the full scope of the damage. 

“And here I am looking like a piece of shit. Missing an arm, I've got no foot.” Spinel giggled softly, clearly amused by her own misfortune. 

“You ran into the street and a car hit you,” Steven explained. 

“Ah, I guess that figures.” Spinel accepted his explanation with a nod. “When I saw you. I couldn’t believe it. I just started running, and I guess… I fergot ta look both ways.” 

Steven steeled his nerves. He’d brought her here because he wanted to help. He needed to focus on that. He’d deal with his mother when she got home. 

“Spinel, I brought some things and hot water, let's get some of that… let's get it off.”

Spinel blinked at him, confused at to what he meant until she looked down and her lenses focused on the marker tracks on her body. They must have been there for a long time if she had forgotten about them. 

“Okay. Whatever you want.” 

Steven edged a little closer to her and scooted the bucket along beside him. He dipped the sponge into the water and grabbed a bottle of rubbing alcohol. He’d looked up a whole list of things that would remove marker stains and brought as many of them as he could find. He tried them out one after the other, scrubbing at a word written on her lower thigh that started with an F and ended with 'toy’. 

What was the point of this? Spinel was so charming and harmless. Why all this effort just to hurt her? Why did humans insist that GEMs were only machines, then go to all this effort to degrade a piece of hardware?

When Steven tried the can of WD40 he had grabbed from the back of his father’s van, the marks finally started to give way. 

Steven guessed his dad was right. It did solve everything. 

Steven applied more and started working up Spinel’s leg. She watched him quietly, her remaining hand pressed over her mouth. She shifted to let Steven do the other leg. The longer he spent looking at her, the fewer and fewer doubts he had. He remembered those bubble-gum thighs locked over his shoulders as he tried to boost her up high enough to reach the cookie jar on the top of the fridge. How could he not when he’d thought about it for the whole rest of the day?

Her remaining arm was now free from marker, but there were still plenty more on her belly, chest and back. Steven tried to picture how he could get them while invading her personal space as little as possible. Before he could get past that thought, Spinel tucked her head between her legs and rolled forward, preforming a summersault that ended with her spread-eagled on the floor right beside his hip. 

“Ta-da!”

Had she always had breasts? Steven didn’t think so. He felt like he would remember that. If they were additions, that would go partway to explaining why her GEM was installed up-side-down.

The cables were still attached on either side of her gem. Feeding power directly into the most critical part of her being. Everything else could be replaced, but a GEM’s gem held her operating system and memory. Direct damage would result in a complete loss of data. 

Steven scrubbed judiciously around it. Now he’d gotten the hang of it, the marker stains almost melted off her. Spinel rolled over again, giving him a welcome break from trying to keep his eyes on her gem and not the everything else around it. 

He scrubbed away the last of the marker on her body. He ran the sponge all the way from her shoulders to her hips and backside. 

“Hehe~! This reminds me of bath time. Remember how you always liked to wash my back?”

Steven swallowed. He did now. Everything was flooding back to him if he liked it or not. 

Not everything he had done with Spinel had been entirely so innocent. He’d been a stupid kid on the cusp of puberty, and she was programmed to fulfil his every desire. 

All that was left was the marks on her cheeks. The topmost layer came off, but as he suspected, the ink had penetrated all the way into her synthetic skin. Leaving permanent stains. He’d need to find a matching hue and do a skin graft if he wanted them gone. 

As for things he could do right now; he’d gotten rid of most of the marker, but thanks to his efforts, Spinel was covered in pungent mechanical lubricant. He stood up to grab a towel and a fresh bucket of water. He started by wiping off as much of the WD 40 as possible. It resisted water, making it tough to clean without removing as much as possible first. Spinel offered up her body one bit at a time, settling into the rhythm of the chore with him. 

Once most of it was gone, Steven stood and grabbed the bucket. 

"Sorry, Spinel. I really want to take you to the tub, but I can’t disconnect you from the mainframe right now.”

Spinel nodded and dropped herself down onto her back, lying face up with her legs open. 

“I understand. Go ahead.”

Steven meant to close his eyes, but he didn’t. Spinel turned over, and he filled the bucket up again, dumping it out over her a second time. She was completely soaked and laying placidly in the puddle on the garage floor. Steven grabbed the bottle of rose-scented bubble bath and a fresh sponge and dumped a quarter of the bottle onto it. 

The parts where Spinel’s limbs had broken had seals to protect her inner components. Steven didn’t have to worry about getting soap anywhere it didn’t belong. He rubbed down her back then her front. Putting his strength into the task, scrubbing her synthetic skin until it would have turned red if she were human.

Then he let the bubbles sit as he applied the shampoo to her hair. To his dismay, he found that her pigtails were held in place by zip ties. He broke them open with his fingers, crushing the tiny plastic locks. He lathered up her hair, minding the tangles while he focused on washing out the dirt. 

Spinel began to sing quietly as he scrubbed her hair. 

_ “Rub-a-dub, three maids in a tub,_

_And who do you think was there?”_

Steven got another bucket of water and Spinel paused to let him give her a rinse. 

_ “The butcher, the baker, the candlestick-maker, _

_And all of them gone to the fair,”_

Steven applied two handfuls of hair conditioner and grabbed the comb he’d brought. He’d learned to comb with conditioner still in from his mother. The thick coating allowed curly or messy hair to untangle much easier. He worked with short strokes from the bottom up. 

“Ruba dub-dub, all covered in suds,” Spinel sung. She hummed the tune for a few more minutes as Steven worked at the tangled ends. 

“Do you want me to sing you something else?” Spinel asked. 

Steven tried to focus on what he was doing and not remember singing karaoke with Spinel with his mother’s hairbrush for a microphone. 

“Sure Spinel…”

Spinel cleared her throat, her voice modulating to add static and grain as if she’s replaced her voice box with a 20th-century radio set. She could sing, add sound effects, and play music all at once. 

_ “do, do, do, do, do, do, dodalo, do do, do, do…” _

Steven ran the comb though a few more times after he’d gotten all the tangles out. 

_ “I'm singin' in the rain, Just singin' in the rain. what a glorious feeling, I'm happy again.” _

Steven reached over to grab the bucket. 

“Oh-ho, Steven? Why don’t you use the hose? It would be faster.” Spinel suggested, slipping back into her usual voice instantly. 

Steven bit his bottom lip, glancing over at the back coil attached to the wall near the sink. 

“That water is cold.” 

“Hehe~! Silly billy. you know I can’t get cold.”

Steven nodded. Spinel had a point. Maybe it was better to just get this over with. He walked over to it and turned on the flow. He pressed his thumb down over the spout the way he did when washing the van, turning the single stream into a fan of water. Spinel wiggled as he rinsed her down, rinsing her arms over her head and posing herself as if she were luxuriating under a showerhead. 

“I'm laughing at clouds, so dark up above. The sun's in my heart, and I'm ready for love!”

Steven ran his fingers through her hair until he couldn’t feel any of the conditioner left. Spinel braced her remaining hand behind her and leaned back, allowing the water spray to rain down on her body. 

“Let the stormy clouds chase, everyone from the place. Come on with the rain, I've a smile on my face. I walk down the lane with a happy refrain-”

Spinel slid down to the concrete floor and closed her eyes. 

“Just singin', singin' in the rain…”

Steven dropped the hose and went to turn it off. 

“How do you feel now?" He asked. 

“Mmmmhmm… ’ust great...”

Steven offered her a hand, and he pulled Spinel upright. He found a relatively dry portion of the floor and sat beside her. 

“I’m sorry I couldn’t get the ones on your face off,” He cupped her cheek in his hands, running his fingers over the stains. She couldn’t feel the cold, but he felt it in her skin, and it felt wrong. She should be warm, sitting in hip-high soapy water next to him and playing with rubber ducks. Not laid out on the garage floor getting sprayed down like Greg’s van. 

“Nha. I knew those were never coming off,” Spinel admitted with a tiny smile. “They were the first…” 

Spinel trailed off. The lenses in her eyes shuttered to narrow slits and her face went blank. 

“Spinel?” Steven asked. She didn’t respond for a moment until- 

“Owh! Yes! Sowy, I drifted off fow a second there. What were we taking abouwt?”

Steven didn’t know what else to do, so he scooped her up and hugged her tight. Spinel’s remaining arm slipped behind his back, holding him in return.

“Spinel, please. What happened to you? Where have you been? I’m trying to remember, but all I know for sure is that is my mom lied about what happened when you went missing.” 

Spinel turned her head toward his neck. He could hear the motors in her eyes whirring as she blinked. 

“Steven, Could I ask you for a favour? For old times sake?” Spinel asked. 

“I uh…” it took a moment for Steven to catch up to the sudden topic change. “Of course, anything you want, Spinel.”

Spinel moved her hand to his other shoulder and held it as she leaned back, her lenses meeting his eyes. 

“I… I need you to press my reset button.” 

Steven blinked at her. 

“Your reset button?”

Steven thought he must have misheard, but the tiny nod and the intense look on Spinel’s face told him otherwise. 

“But that would erase all your data. Your personality, your learned behaviour, your memory…” 

Spinel gave him a faint smirk. “That’s the idea.” 

Steven’s mouth fell open. 

“N-no…”

“You said anything!”

“I didn’t think you ask me to ki-! Er-erase you.” 

Spinel winced as she took her hand back. She pulled her legs up and hugged them against her chest. 

“Why wouldn’t you think that? Just look at me. Do I look like a GEM who’s fit to serve?”

Steven buried his face in both his hands, he couldn’t believe what he was hearing. 

“No. We can fix this. I’ll get you a new foot, new batteries, a whole new body. Whatever you want. You’ll be good as new!”

Spinel shut her eyes tight and shook her head. 

“Yuh don’t understand...” she moved her hand to her gem, hiding the glow behind her fingers. “It's not just my outsides dat are broken.” 

Steven’s heart dropped into his stomach with the weight and force of an anvil. 

“Steven, I hurt someone. I hurt several someone’s real bad, so bad they won't get better." 

The dress Spinel had been wearing was still laying on the garage floor. The copper stains had seeped through to the inside. 

“Blood. It was blood.” 

Steven had known what it was the whole time, but he’d decided to ignore it. 

“It just went on for so long. I couldn’t take it anymore. The anger built inside me, little by 'ittle, until it just came flooding out. I hated… I hated them. I hated them so much…”

Steven reached out to her. “Spinel it’s not your fault. The people who did that to you were bad." 

Spinel shrunk away from him, turning her body and protecting her GEM with her remaining arm. 

“Fer... for a while I… I thought that if I waited… if I just stayed put. You’d find out where I was and come save me. I… I knew I was only fooling myself, but it was all I had, so I kept waiting and hoping until...”

The pink LEDs in her eyes flickered out. 

“He said, _ 'no one is going to save you.' _ He… he didn’t know. It was justa ‘nother awful thing to say, but it... It made me realize he was right. You didn’t remember me. You didn’t miss me. You were never going to come.” 

She fixed her pure black lenses on him. Steven could see his own reflection in them. “And I… I broke… “

Steven couldn’t even begin to process what she was telling him. It was like his past had suddenly grown a hand a throttled him with it. 

“Spinel. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” 

Spinel took his hand. 

“Please Steven. I know it’s a lot to ask, but it’s all I want. All I can have. It’s here with you or at a recycling centre.”

“I’ll stop. I won’t let-”

A synthesized laugh cut him off her harmonizer glitched halfway through, making the pitch shift wildly. 

“I guess I wasn’t wrong about you being a knight in shining armour! Heh… but It's too late for you ta save me. The memories hurt too much. I... I could brake again. I could brake again. I’m not safe to be around. Not even for you.” 

Steven held his head in his hands for a while. None of this was how things were supposed to work. There were laws, checks and balances. 

“Where-”

Steven couldn’t even finish the question. He held out his hand and let Spinel guild it. Spinel slid her fingers down to his wrist and pressed his between her bubble-gum pink thighs. 

Already overwhelmed with what he had learned, Steven couldn’t find the emotional strength to react with more than mild bewilderment. 

“What.” 

Spinel shook her head. 

“It’s a safety measure. So... so... we won’t remember. Spinels aren’t supposed to be for that.” 

“Then why even give you-!”

Spinel silenced him with a single glance from her empty eyes. “Steven, People will always find a way to misuse GEMs. My… they… wanted me to suffer. They refused to reset me. At least if you press it, my last memory will be with you.” 

“Okay. Okay.” 

There wasn’t any point in arguing now. Steven didn’t doubt Spinel was telling him the truth. He had already given his word. 

He felt around for the button. Was it his imagination, or was her skin-polymer a lot softer just here? At a loss for what else to do, Steven moved his fingers up to the spot where a button would be on a human. 

Spinel giggled and shook her head. “No. Not there. It’s in.” 

Steven sighed deeply, letting his shoulder fall. “Of course, it is.” He glanced around the garage. “Just… wait one second.” 

He got up and stumbled to the metal storage cupboards, returning to Spinel with a white and blue tub marked as ‘lubricating jelly’. It was meant to be used to grease the mechanical parts of GEMs, and technically that’s what he was going to use it for too. 

He twisted off the top and dipped his fingers in. Spinel giggled when he touched her and murmured, "It’s awll slippery…” 

Steven nodded, holding his breath as if it would somehow stop his heart from hammering. He kept switching between focusing on trying to find her button while remembering the awful consequences and losing himself in what he was doing but feeling guilty about it. 

Spinel gasped and grinned at him. Steven realized he was looking at her face and not the three fingers he had inside her.** All** the way inside of her.

“I guess they’re not long enough,” Spinel whispered. 

Steven blinked at her and sighed. “I figured they wouldn’t be.”

He took his hand back and gathered Spinel up in his arms, easing her into his lap. He kissed her. Taking the full lip-lock he had wished for when kissing her softly on the cheek 6 years ago. Spinel draped her remaining arm over his shoulders. He could feel the waste heat from her gem drawing power from the mainframe but being unable to store it in her damaged batteries. 

Feeling like his hands were moving on their own, Steven got his jeans out of the way. He dipped his fingers into the tub to gather up another spoonful. He’d been, at least partly, ‘up for this’ basically all night. Ever since he’d started touching her. Her influence over him far outpaced anything Steven had experienced before.

He’d been so disgusted seeing his peers drooling over catalogues of personal companionship GEMs. When he's herd people bragging about visiting hotels where GEMs came bundled with exotically decorated rooms. 

His friends and family were GEMs, he wasn't entirely human himself. He couldn’t see them like that… and that was the problem. 

He coated himself in slick jelly, bending down to hide his face in Spinel's neck and damp hair, close enough to smell the rose-scented shampoo.

Spinel was his first in so many ways. She was built into the core of what he found attractive. Every time he gazed too long at a cute person with pigtails or found himself so much more interested in anyone who made him laugh. 

Steven tightened the arm around Spinel’s middle, holding her hips over his own and- 

Steven stared at the far wall, fighting not to blink. Tears overflowing despite the effort. 

“What’s the holdup, buttercup?” Spinel pipped up. 

“I… I can’t…” 

“Awww, sure you can. I’ll sing for you.”

Spinel bounced in tune with the rhythm of her nursery rhyme. 

_ “All around the mulberry bush _

_ The monkey chased the weasel _

_ The monkey thought 'twas all in fun _

_ Pop goes the-” _

Spinel trailed off and snickered. “Aww, you were supposed to go when I said the pop part! Here I’ll do it for you.” 

Spinel straddled his lap, taking her weight on her calves. She sat back and held Steven’s face in her only hand. 

“I've no time to sit and sigh,

No patience to wait 'til by ‘n by.

Kiss me quick, I'm off, goodbye.”

Spinel dropped herself down into his lap. The poison mix of despair and pleasure burning into his memory. Tight and hot, uncannily soft and yielding. She even tightened up around him the moment after he entered her. 

“Pop, goes the weasel!”

Spinel’s giggle melted with a moan. She drooped her head back, baring her breasts and gem for him.

“It’s… it’s good?” Steven asked. This all seemed so wrong. He couldn't quite believe Spinel was getting anything from this. 

“Umhm! You did a lot of growing while I was away!” Spinel chirped, sitting back up enough to shoot him a wink. 

“How long until-”

Spinel lifted her hips, cutting him off mid-sentence. “Lemmie put it this way. I need yuh tuh cock ta’ gun, but I get tuh pull de trigga." 

Steven swallowed, his hands moving to her middle again. He supposed that made sense. After all, there had to be times when this could happen consensually. 

Then, maybe… Maybe he could still talk her down. Maybe… maybe... 

“I’m so sorry.”

Spinel moved a finger over his lips. “Bubble gum. Lollipop. You’ve been talking, time to stop.” 

Halfway through a bounce of her hips, something in Spinel’s leg crackled and hissed. Steven tightened his arms, picking up where she left off, once he checked to make sure she wasn’t likely to catch on fire. 

Spinel rested her head on his chest and closed her eyes. Surrendering herself with the same ease that she’d once asked, _ ‘so what do you want to play now?’ _

He held her crushed tight against him. Moving at a gradual pace, pausing for a half-second each time Spinel’s backside rested on his thighs. He was probably trying to draw this out a long as possible. Part of him so deep in denial that it thought that they could stay like this forever. Then again, it might still have been like this if Spinel had never disappeared. If she had never been taken from him. 

“Do you want to hear one last song?” Spinel whispered. 

“Ye-yes, please.”

Spinel traced her pointer finger down his back. 

“This one always was yur favorite...” 

Even before she began, Steven heard the words in his head. 

_ "The sun'll come out, Tomorrow, bet your bottom dolla, that tomorrow, there’ll be sun!” _

There was no backing music for this song, just her crystal-clear voice ringing like a bell, twisting back the relentless flow of time itself. Connecting the countless times she had sung it to him, the times he had sung it to himself in her absence and this last time. 

“_ Just thinkin' about, Tomorr _-OH~!”

Steven heard the snap of sparks flying. He lowered Spinel to the floor. _Carefully, carefully. _He curled his body over her, rutting her like an overexcited dog who had gotten hold of a throw pillow. 

“Oh, Yes, yes, yes~! Steven!” 

She moaned his name. Wonderful. Awful. But something he could handle. If he let her sing one more line, he knew he would crumble into a bawling mess. 

The last few moments burned white-hot, galvanising Steven's resolve into tempered iron. 

He felt her squeeze down around him. He kissed her hard, tasting her last fitful moans of his name as they fell together. 

* * *

Spinel lay on the floor underneath him. Oil slowly leaking from her intact leg, a lighter white fluid leaking from further up. Her GEM flashed once, then three more times. 

“Full system reset Initialized. The process will take several minutes. Please stand by.”

The voice that spoke wasn’t Spinel's even though it came from her. The message was automated. Purely informational. The synthesizer it used was painfully familiar. It belonged to the entity who had given Steven everything. His life, his powers, his family, his emotional baggage, his regrets, his reasons to go on. 

Spinel had been a gift from her, this unit picked especially for him, from a mould she had designed with programing that only she could fully comprehend. 

The final of the four mainframes built to bring the dream of utopia to humankind. 

Pink Diamond.

Steven stared down at his hands, forcing himself to breathe slowly and evenly. If his hands were shaking… He wouldn’t let them shake. 

Spinel smiled up at him. “Thank you, Steven… I-I’m sorry.” 

Steven shook his head. “No. I’m sorry, Spinel.” 

“It wasn’t your fault, Steven.” 

“That’s not true. I could have asked. I could have thought about you. You gave me everything you had, and I forgot about you. If you hadn’t found me, I’d never known how much you suffered because of my selfishness.”

Steven reached for her, Spinel tried to take his hand, but he pushed her arm aside and closed his fingers around her gem, curling his fingertips under the heart. 

“But that’s not what I’m sorry for. I’m sorry about this.” 

“Stev- AHHHHHHHHAAAH!” 

Her scream filled his ears with molten lead. Each second was pure agony for them both as he wrenched the magenta spark that was everything irreplaceable about Spinel from the twisted metal that surrounded it. Cables snapped, and synthetic skin ripped as he tore out her heart. 

Thud. 

She hit the floor. **It** hit the floor. The lifeless shell that Spinel had been occupying until seconds ago. 

Spinel was safe in his hand. Her memory and personality preserved inside her undamaged gem. Steven snapped off the broken cables attached to the back and the magnetic mainframe contacts on the front. 

He held her up in both hands. It had been the most horrible thing he had ever done, but if it meant saving Spinel, he would have done it a thousand times over. 

He clutched her to his chest and zipped his jacket up over her, hiding her there. He couldn’t break down just yet. There was more to do before Spinel would be safe. 

He started by grabbing the dress and forcing it back onto the shell body as best he could. Next, he ran to the supply shelf. Among the supplies were a collection of new gems. Empty drives waiting to be written. He shifted through until he found a pink one about Spinel’s size. He carried to the broken shell and shoved it into the gaping hole he had left in her chest. The pink gem he had found was round, a replacement part for Rose… or maybe for him. It didn’t matter. 

It was obvious that it wasn’t her gem, but it wouldn’t be in a moment. He raised his foot over both and stomped down with every scrap of strength he had. 

The shatter could be heard across the whole house. 

“Pearl! Pearl help!” 

His cry for help overwrought the standard protocols and Pearl burst in through the door, spear already in her hands.

“Steven!” 

Steven crossed her arms over his chest, feigning hurt, really holding Spinel close. “Pearl... you were right! She attacked me. I-I’m okay though.”


End file.
